The Case of the Missing Day Lilies - INSIDE THE GATES OF LEISURE WORLD OF MARYLAND-

The Case of the Missing Day Lilies

INSIDE THE GATES OF LEISURE WORLD OF MARYLAND-

Point Blank©: slk

Without their knowledge or permission, 4 senior citizen residents of the Montgomery Mutual section of Leisure World of Maryland, recently discovered their day lilies had been removed from their unit beds. Wanting to know why and by what authority, one of the 4 stood and addressed the Mutual BOD, presenting a signed letter of protest and a $316 statement of costs, Claiming no knowledge of the destruction and removal, the Board and the Montgomery Mutual Property Manager stated they would further investigate to determine if the Landscape Committee or the contracted landscaper McFall & Berry, had removed the plants.

The 4 affected residents were quite surprised when the very next morning, Montgomery Mutual President Linda Wacha and Property Manager Steve Wischmann made an unannounced visit to their homes, confronting their audacity at having taken this matter to the Board.

Wischmann was pounding so hard on her patio door, that one of the women was too frightened to let him in. He then went around the building, banging on their front doors and ringing their doorbells. When they opened their doors, he waved the letter saying, “how dare you sign this”, “what were you thinking?”, “Why did you sign this?” “You should have come to me first before going to the Board.”

Shocked and “surprised at the intensity of their displeasure”, it was explained that the Board was the exact place to take this since they are elected to represent the residents. Not wanting to hear what they had to say, and declaring instances of other reports of Montgomery Mutual residents plantings being removed as “rumors”, Wischmann announced, “We’re not getting anywhere here” and left to look around where the missing day lilies had originally been planted. Obviously not finding any since they had been removed, incredibly Wacha and Wischmann were heard uttering “I don’t think day lilies were ever there.”

After such extraordinarily unprofessional and hostile conduct, Wischmann called the frightened resident, issuing an apology for his behavior--and that he would inquire further into the missing day lilies.

Upon closing the interview, the resident made the following understatement:

“they weren’t very nice to us.”